


On Being a Witch

by Cutebunnys50



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Akko is confident that there's nothing wrong with it but Diana's obviously more in the closet, Akko's probably just some farm girl, Alternate Universe, Diana is a noble, F/F, being a witch means you're gay, i guess they see each other around/go to the same school maybe, it's not completely thought out lmao, the setting is like in the past/medieval where everyone's a farmer and there's no technology, using magic or carrying a wand is like acting gay or dressing gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 23:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13200624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cutebunnys50/pseuds/Cutebunnys50
Summary: In which being a witch is just one big ol’ metaphor for coming out, ahaha (but that’s just a suggestion). Aka an AU where being discovered as a witch guarantees ridicule and maybe even death. That's exactly why you never want to be discovered practicing magic. --Twoshot. Chapter 1 is Akko's POV and chapter 2 is Diana's. More introspective instead of action-y.





	1. Akko

“What’s wrong with being a witch?! It’s not weird!! It’s not uncool!! It’s _magical!!_ ”

A young, wounded Akko cried out with outrage as she was suddenly shoved backwards. A wand—something she had persistently begged her parents to get her for a long time, even if it wasn’t necessarily real-–fell out of her hand, clattering to the ground. Landing in a sitting position, she glared up at her attackers: fellow school children of the same age, looking at her with varying faces of disgust and derision.

“Hey! Give that back!” When one of the cruel school children suddenly picked up her wand, Akko immediately tried to jump to her feet and grab it back, but she suddenly couldn’t move. When she whipped her head around to figure out her sudden immobility, she saw two of the other children were now holding her down, one of them pressing her against the ground by the shoulders and the other keeping her hands restricted behind her back.

“Let go!” she yelled, thrashing with her feet and attempting to break free, but they didn’t listen. Instead, one of the children keeping her in place struck her in the back of the head to shut her up, hitting her hard enough for it to hurt but not enough to knock her out.

Stuck in this helpless position, Akko watched with horror as the student who had taken her wand earlier waved it around with a mocking look on his face, treating it like a toy. (It wasn’t a toy! If Akko tried enough, she sincerely believed she could channel magic into it someday as long as she kept practicing!)

“Stop!” Akko cried again, but her words that had been ignored earlier were ignored again.

“A witch?” the boy taunted, still waving her wand around carelessly. “Witches aren’t normal; all of them should just die! Don’t you know what happens to witches? They’re burned at the stake!”

He laughed before looking Akko straight in the eye, gripping her wand tightly. “You need this to be a witch, right? Well, I’ll do you a favor and make sure that never happens! Maybe you can finally be normal for once!”

The boy snapped her wand against his knee and flung it to the side, and Akko’s eyes took in all of it.

Finally, she was released, but she didn’t move even after the children left her, their derisive laughter still echoing in her ears. Instead, she stared with horror at the broken wand on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

When her wand had been broken, it felt like a little bit of herself had broken along with it.

\--

“Ahh! I’m glad to finally be back!” Akko, older now and a teenager, strolled into a certain clearing with a big grin on her face, carrying a certain white wand with her.

It wasn’t a very large wand: carrying large wands was impractical and dangerous because witches were looked down upon, and a wand was a surefire sign of a witch. No, it was thin, easy to conceal, and very transportable. This wand, she had found in the forest one day when she got lost, and now she revisited this certain part of the forest because it was the only place she could ever express herself without fear of being seen. Here, she could be her true self. She could express her true thoughts (she could talk to herself or the trees or the animals) and best of all, she could make magic.

Hidden in a certain forest clearing, far away from the village and from anyone else, Akko finally felt at peace. There was no way anyone would be wandering around the huge woods at this time: it was pitch-black, and it was night.

She always looked forward to this time.

“I’m going to perform for you today again!” the witch announced cheerfully, her wand emitting a luminous glow to allow her to see. Even if she was sure no one was listening except for the trees and the animals, that was enough.

With a twirl of her wand, Akko emitted bright sparks, creating a mini fireworks show in the clearing that she danced around. When she performed magic, she always did what felt right, and she had tried really hard to perfect and learn different spells. By now, she was fairly proficient at the skill, even if she wasn’t a professional. (After all, she was mostly self-taught with the assistance of some rare-to-find books.)

Whenever Akko cast different spells, too, a certain grace came to her, different from the awkward, bumbling girl she often presented herself as. The difference in character was obvious: it was because out of all the things Akko believed in, she was most certain about her love for magic. She couldn’t say this of most things even if she always tried, but making magic and being a witch was different; Akko was a witch to the very core, and she loved and believed in that with her entire heart.

That’s why whenever she did whatever she pleased, creating images with a wave of her wand, she was truly happy. Witches could do anything, and Akko was a good witch. What could anyone hate about that? There was never an end to the many spells she could learn, the many things she could discover about witches, so Akko never, ever grew bored of it.

She had believed it when she was younger, and she still believed it now: witches were magical.

Akko was so used to coming to this clearing alone, to having the place all to herself, that when there was a sudden change in routine, she didn’t know how to react. A voice suddenly spoke: “You shouldn’t do that.” …and it wasn’t her own.

The witch froze upon hearing it, stopping in an awkward position with her wand raised in the air and a foot raised behind her. The speaker of the voice suddenly stepped out into the clearing, and Akko’s heart sank.

It was Diana. Diana Cavendish. And Akko was sure Diana hated her.

“D-D-D-Diana!” That was all Akko could think to say, immediately standing ramrod straight. Realizing Diana had probably seen her perform magic—like a witch-–Akko paled, immediately hiding the wand under her clothes. “U-umm… Do what?” Hoping it would work and Diana would think she had just been seeing things, Akko went for the “play dumb” route, staking her life on it.

Diana, however, was unwavering. “Use magic,” she said, and her cool glare bore into Akko’s soul.

This had been her secret spot—all to herself-–for a long time… Her safe haven that had given her comfort, made her free, and kept her going for all this time, and it was going to be ruined by one person seeing.

A person who didn’t approve. A person who could ruin her life.

Swallowing thickly, Akko knew her fake act had been seen through, so she didn’t try to keep it up. Instead, she tried not to look too worried as she returned Diana’s gaze, balling her hands into fists tightly. “Are you going to tell…?” Akko asked, and when Diana shook her head, Akko felt relief wash over her.

Everyone knew Akko was very open about her love of witches, so people finding out about that wasn’t a problem. The problem here was people finding out Akko was a witch and not just some wannabe poser. If you were a witch, things worse than bullying could happen to you—things like death. As long as Diana kept this a secret, Akko would be okay: people disliked her for having weird tastes, but they had outgrown bullying her. Instead, most people simply ignored her, and that was fine with Akko. (The reason Akko thought Diana hated her was because Diana almost always seemed to be glaring at her, especially when the topic of witches came up.)

Looks like Diana had a merciful side though.

“Thanks,” Akko said, and she sincerely meant it. Diana wasn’t going to get her killed, and that meant a lot. She wasn’t going to be outed, and that meant a lot.

The relief didn’t last long, however. Diana’s next words were cold, cutting Akko straight to the bone. “However, you must stop practicing magic.“ She said it as if it was so simple, so easy, as if it wasn’t taking a huge part of Akko away from her. As if she had seen the look on Akko’s face, she continued—her voice unchanging as she gave an explanation. “You’re lucky it was me who saw you instead of someone else. I may not tell everyone, but someone else would. You cannot keep making a spectacle of yourself in this forest forever. One day, someone will find out—might even follow you-–and you will be a dead woman.” Her final words were as comforting as something from Diana Cavendish—the rich and privileged noble-–could be: “It’s for your own good.”

Throughout her speech, Diana’s eyes stayed locked with Akko’s, and Akko was finally given an opportunity for a reaction. Of course, Akko immediately wanted to resist, but she knew Diana was right. Even so, she wanted to disagree with her, and she did. With a steadfast voice (Akko would pretend her voice didn’t waver, even if it actually did), she declared, “I would rather die being myself and doing what I love than live in fear.”

Part of her didn’t know if that was completely true—after all, she had lived in fear most of her life, so that’s why this place was so important to her (Diana would never be able to understand). Still, Akko didn’t want to give up magic; she couldn’t. Returning Diana’s stare with a strong glare, Akko waited a bit anxiously, wondering if she might regret her words. (After all, what if Diana suddenly changed her mind and decided to get her killed?)

Besides a slight widening of her eyes that happened so fast that Akko wondered if she had even seen it, Diana stayed composed; she was always composed.

“You say you don’t want to live in fear, yet you’re hiding in this hollow every night to play with magic like a so-called witch.” Diana’s words were so on the mark that Akko almost stumbled. “So you’re going to keep up this little charade without heeding any of my advice?” Eyes narrowing a bit, Akko almost flinched—almost.

“No!” Akko’s reaction was immediate, and the witch looked down shamefully at her shoes. “Well, you’re right about living in fear… I don’t want to live like that any more though… I get what you’re saying, but… But I’m not just acting like a witch; I _am_ a witch! And I’m not going to give it up!” Looking up again, determination returned to Akko’s eyes, glowing bright. “I’m going to show to everyone that being a witch is great! Just you wait!”

Diana’s face became unreadable, returning to neutrality. “Great, huh?” she finally muttered, turning away. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

And then she was gone, leaving Akko to wonder why Diana had even been here in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this written a while ago, but I never thought to post it. I've never really published any actual fanfiction before (despite occasionally writing some stuff I usually keep to myself), so I thought maybe I could do that! Then I can write more, especially about all of my ideas/that Dianakko video game AU I want to see so badly.  
> Since this is technically my first (published) fanfiction, constructive criticism/comments are welcomed! I've always admired other fanfiction writers who write so well, so I want to share some of my ideas too and get better!  
> I didn't want to preface my story with this, so here we are now! Thanks for expressing interest in/reading my story! And go ahead and be blunt! I'm okay with people telling me my story sucks (if it really does), but I also want to know why! For a start, I figure this is pretty good (maybe all the years roleplaying really has helped my writing), but I'll let you be the judge of that!  
> Thanks for your time!
> 
> Just a heads-up, the next part is the same thing except from Diana's perspective, so the dialogue will be the same!


	2. Diana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Diana sees things

Atsuko Kagari, the wannabe poser, the girl obsessed with witches.

She was unconventional, and she was also just asking for trouble, declaring her love of witches so loudly like that. It was no wonder people bullied her, and when they got tired of bullying her, they just ignored her and pretended she didn’t exist—like she was an inconvenience to them or an eyesore (and to them, she really was).

Diana was familiar with her: she found herself observing her all the time, after all. Akko willingly made herself a target by being so open about her unconventional tastes (a normal person would be more discreet about it and keep it to themself, but Akko wasn’t normal). One side of Diana was actually envious of Akko for being so steadfast and strong in her beliefs despite others’ treatment of her. Diana had a reputation she had to keep, so she couldn’t relate—if Diana ever expressed interest in witches, everyone would be on her in a second (especially her disapproving family).

The other part of Diana, however, thought Akko was just a fool. Why was there a need to inform everyone of how different she was—why did she need to stir up controversy? Unless Akko was an actual witch herself (which Diana doubted because witches were powerful beings and Akko lacked talent in anything), there was no reason to be so loud about the topic. It wasn’t like by yelling she supported witches anything would change: it would only turn people against her, and that’s exactly what it did.

Akko was an idiot, and maybe Diana wished she could be as idiotic as her.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a younger Diana had been interested in witches too, interested in their ability to create magic and bring excitement to the world. Those feelings had been short-lived, and the Diana now knew there was no need for unnecessary chaos in the world: the world simply hated witches (everyone was afraid of them) and although Diana secretly wanted to reverse everyone’s opinion, she simply couldn’t do as she pleased; she had a reputation to keep.

She remembered it as clearly as if it had been yesterday, her father’s words upon learning of Diana’s mild interest in witches: “ _Forget that witch nonsense. One day, you will understand what it is like to have big responsibility, to have great power. Witches are an eyesore--stains in society. Never be like them. You’ll understand when you’re older, Diana, when you’ve inherited the family legacy and married a wealthy man.”_

Diana also remembered her answer: it had been stiff, and that was really when she had started perfecting the cool Cavendish mask she now wore almost daily. “ _Yes, Father.”_ She had answered like that: calmly, without protesting because she hadn’t had a right to protest. (No one liked witches, after all, so her father was right.)

Maybe the Diana now felt how Akko did about witches, but she had buried that feeling a long time ago—she had quashed it.

Maybe that’s why Diana was so interested in her. And Akko seemed to notice, too, judging from the way she would sometimes shrink away when Diana found herself unintentionally glaring at her. Whenever that happened, Diana felt a bit of guilt: she hadn’t meant to be glaring at Akko; she had simply been looking at her intensely. And Diana felt a bit of emptiness follow that feeling of guilt too: she wanted to show Akko that she was on her side, but there was simply nothing she could do—that’s how she viewed it.

And was she really on Akko’s side? Akko’s way of going about things was infuriating to watch. Most of the time when Diana thought about Akko, she couldn’t help the feelings of frustration that bubbled up— _anger_ and frustration.

Ever since meeting her, Akko had sent Diana’s life into disarray. She thought about the wannabe witch frequently, wondering how she found it in herself to go through each day when the whole world seemed to be her enemy. It was frustrating to admit, but Akko filled Diana with longing.

Diana wanted to be as free as her, even if she was treated poorly. She wanted to tell everyone how much she supported witches too.

That’s how Diana figured it out. Akko’s “lifestyle” had more cons than pros, so how did she do it? As Diana observed her, she became more and more certain: she had to have something that kept her going, and Diana would find it out.

And find it out she did.

One day, while wandering around her own estate, Diana decided to go further than usual, trying to take her mind off of things (and as usual, her mind wandered to the same persistent girl).

In doing so, she thought she heard a voice, and she turned to it. Stopping, she listened, and she thought she could hear somebody: there was somebody in the woods, but what would they be doing in there at such a time, in darkness?

For some reason (and maybe it was an idiotic reason), Diana was drawn to it. She approached the sound, guided by little light, and she came across it: Atsuko Kagari creating magic.

The sight made her stop, eyes wide, and she immediately hid so as not to be seen.

Suddenly, things made more sense, and maybe she had been foolish to not realize sooner. Akko _was_ a real witch, and she was probably bound to be one eventually given her obsession with them.

Not only did the girl endanger herself daily by expressing her support for them: she was one of them herself, which explained why she was always so stubborn about it.

This was a dangerous revelation, though, and Diana found herself speaking before she could stop herself. “You shouldn’t do that.” The words left her lips a lot colder than she intended, but once she heard herself, she knew she couldn’t back away now, and she stepped out into the open.

The other girl paused mid-motion, and if the situation hadn’t been so dangerous, Diana almost would have found her comical. Akko’s magic—the little she had seen of it while watching-–had been colorful and energetic. It had been a pleasant performance, but if Akko valued her life, it would end now.

“D-D-D-Diana!”

Diana almost winced at how loud Akko’s voice came out, but thankfully, the girl seemed to remember where she was and lowered her voice.

“U-umm… Do what?”

Unfortunately,  she seemed intent on treating Diana like an idiot, as she was immediately feigning ignorance.

Determined not to be shaken off, Diana’s answer was simple. “Use magic,” she said easily, and she fixed Akko with an intense stare, waiting for the girl’s reply.

Diana watched, only slightly fascinated, as the dumb look melted off of Akko’s face and the brunette looked back _defiantly_ , hands balling into fists.

(Of course she would resist. Akko had expressed time and time again how stubborn she was.)

“Are you going to tell…?” Akko asked, and Diana immediately shook her head—she had no intention of getting anyone killed tonight (or any time soon, actually).

“Thanks.” The smile Akko sent her almost made Diana drop her façade, but she couldn’t let this slide; she couldn’t let Akko endanger herself like this.

“However, you must stop practicing magic.” Seeing the look of relief get wiped off Akko’s face once again almost made Diana reconsider, but she continued on strongly, knowing she was doing the most sensible thing. “You’re lucky it was me who saw you instead of someone else. I may not tell everyone, but someone else would. You cannot keep making a spectacle of yourself in this forest forever. One day, someone will find out—might even follow you-–and you will be a dead woman.“

Diana paused, having studied Akko’s face this entire time, and she knew the other girl was unconvinced. Therefore, she added one last statement, almost meant to be reassuring (it was definitely justification): “It’s for your own good.”

Akko’s reply admittedly caught Diana off-guard a bit. “I would rather die being myself and doing what I love than live in fear,” the brunette declared, and Diana took note of the slight waver in Akko’s voice as those words were said.  

She knew Akko was stubborn, but she hadn’t expected Akko to keep it up in the face of reason. (She certainly was a fool.)

No one caught Diana Cavendish off-guard (for long) though, so she had a reply ready, quick to point out Akko’s faults. “You say you don’t want to live in fear, yet you’re hiding in this hollow every night to play with magic like a so-called witch.” There was a pause, Diana’s eyes narrowing a bit more, her voice that may have been slightly understanding before now turning ice cold. “So you’re going to keep up this little charade without heeding any of my advice?”

“No!” Again, Akko had an outburst, but the other girl then quickly looked down at her shoes, as if embarrassed of herself. “Well, you’re right about living in fear… I don’t want to live like that any more though… I get what you’re saying, but… But I’m not just acting like a witch; I _am_ a witch! And I’m not going to give it up!” Looking up again, determination returned to Akko’s eyes, glowing bright. “I’m going to show to everyone that being a witch is great! Just you wait!”

Diana’s face became unreadable, returning to neutrality. “Great, huh?” she finally muttered, turning away. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

And she left. That night, she couldn’t stop thinking about Akko (the stupidly passionate, real witch), even if she tried.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's that! I know it's not perfect, but I gave it my all! Kudos/comments always appreciated! But most of all, thanks for reading my story! This is more of a one-time thing, but I like when the setting is old-timey/not modern, so I might play with it a bit more! It'll be a while before I come up with another story though! Until then, I hope you enjoyed this one!  
> Thanks! Maybe see you again!
> 
> -Bunny


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